


Of Lies and Denial

by stillskies



Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 03:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillskies/pseuds/stillskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Watanuki is trying to work. Yuuko wants to talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Lies and Denial

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 04-28-2006

Watanuki entered the shop, toed off his shoes and called out a greeting. Silence and the cloying scent of Yuuko-san’s jasmine incense welcomed him. He shrugged out of his winter jacket and folded it, placing it neatly next to his shoes and bag. He slipped on the house slippers he had brought with him, and opened the closet that held his apron and kerchief.

Settling into routine, he tied the kerchief around his head, and noted dismally that he needed a haircut. He was tying his apron when Maru and Moro appeared, Mokona hot on their tails.

“Mistress is waiting for you!” Maru sang.

“Mistress is waiting for you!” Moro chorused.

“Sake, Watanuki! Sake!” Mokona chimed in.

He ignored Mokona. After all, he knew exactly where to look for the liquor, and could pour himself a glass. 

“Is Yuuko-san in the parlor?” he asked the twins.

Maru and Moro shook their heads. “She’s waiting in the kitchen,” they replied in unison.

He patted them on their heads and he made his way to where Yuuko waited. He ran through the scenarios that could play out. When it came to her, it usually pertained only to one of three things: food, alcohol, or an errand to be ran with Doumeki.

Watanuki prayed fervently to whomever would listen that it was food or alcohol. He could deal with those, but Doumeki-- 

He entered the kitchen to find Yuuko sitting at the table, arms elegantly folded on the tabletop. Watanuki noticed her face held no trace of the mysterious smile she so often wore, a grim line covering it instead.

“Watanuki,” she greeted him, motioning to the chair in front of her in invitation.

Watanuki swallowed. “Yuuko-san,” he replied.

Something flickered across her face, but it was gone before Watanuki could discern it. He sat down, fighting the urge to fidget under her stare.

“I have something to discuss with you, Watanuki,” she announced, her voice unusually serious.

Watanuki blinked and grimaced at the feeling of his eyelashes brushing against the scratchy gauze over his left eye. “Do you have a job for me and Doumeki?” he asked cautiously.

Yuuko shook her head. Watanuki thought he saw a trace of her usual smile before her eyes locked onto his again. “No,” she replied, “although it is regarding Doumeki-kun.”

This time, he definitely saw her smile. Watanuki shuddered. “What about that jerk?” he replied, voice harsher than he meant it.

Yuuko stared at him and said nothing. Her eyes bore into him, and sweat began to gather in his palms. Moments passed in silence before Yuuko replied.

“I was just wondering why you lied to him.”

Watanuki stared at the woman across from him, not sure he heard correctly. “Excuse me?” he ground out. “When did I lie to that jerk?”

Yuuko’s smile, which she didn’t bother to hide anymore, turned mischievous. “About the bentou the other day.”

He glared, although it surely wasn’t as effective with gauze taped to his eye socket. He was not going to talk to Yuuko about that. He didn’t know exactly why he had told Doumeki that the bentou had been leftovers and not specifically made for him. He just hadn’t wanted Doumeki to get the wrong idea; after all, the archer had been looking for a way to get back Watanuki’s missing eye. The bentou had been a thank you for that, but he hadn’t wanted Doumeki to know that.

Yuuko’s smile widened. “Watanuki likes Doumeki!” she sang out.

As if on cue, Maru and Moro dashed into the kitchen, holding hands, chanting “Watanuki likes Doumeki!” and giggling in-between pauses. 

“I do not love that jerk!” he yelled. 

Sometimes, he reflected a second later, he should think before he spoke. After all, Maru, Moro, and Yuuko said ‘like,’ not ‘love.’

“I said ‘like,’ not ‘love,’ Watanuki,” she helpfully pointed out. “Or is there something you’d like to tell me about your relationship with Doumeki-kun?”

Watanuki felt his face flush, and he clenched his fists around the faded fabric of the apron. “That’s what I meant,” he spat, embarrassment creeping into his voice. “And there’s nothing to tell!”

“Oh ho ho,” she laughed. “Freudian slips tell something about a person’s true thoughts. Are you sure you’re not pining after Doumeki-kun?”

“I hate that jerk!” he hissed.

Watanuki was glad that Yuuko didn’t point out the utter lack of conviction in his voice. Even to his own ears, he sounded as though he was pleading. But with whom?

“Words are powerful, Watanuki,” Yuuko-san reminded him as she wagged her finger at him. “Do you really want to say you hate Doumeki-kun?”

Watanuki only glared.

Yuuko clapped and turned to Maru and Moro, who immediately stopped their chanting. “How about we have Watanuki make us yakitori for dinner?”

“Yakitori!” Moro cheered.

“Yakitori!” Maru joined in.

“That settles it!” Yuuko exclaimed, hitting her fist into her palm. “Yakitori it is! And Watanuki,” she cooed, “don’t forget the sake.”

“Why don’t you get the damn sake yourself?!” he cried. “And you do you even have the ingredients for yakitori?”


End file.
